Iowa men’s basketball: Sophomore Pryce Sandfort quickly emerging as weapon for Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY — It was late in the first half of Thursday’s contest between Iowa and Southern that Pryce Sandfort became acutely aware that this was, so to speak, his night.

With the shot clock running down, point guard Brock Harding got caught in the air as he tried to salvage the possession and flung a desperation pass to Sandfort in the corner. Pryce Sandfort corralled the low delivery and let a 3-pointer rip before the shot clock sounded.

“It felt really good,” Sandfort recalled. “And it was money. So that’s probably when I was like, yeah, it’s my night.”

For a while, Sandfort was pitching the basketball equivalent of a perfect game. It wasn’t until a little more than five minutes left in the game — after eight makes from the field, including six from deep — that Sandfort missed his first shot.

It was, Sandfort confirmed after the game, like blacking out. 

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sandfort said. “Obviously, I’m not trying to force — still get good shots. But every time I was going up in that zone, it felt like it was going in. So it feels good.”

Sandfort did end up missing shots — only two to be exact. But his final stat line was still remarkably efficient. He finished the night with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from deep, plus four rebounds off the bench in Iowa’s 89-74 victory.

Two games into the 2024-25 regular season, the sophomore is quickly emerging as a serious weapon for the Hawkeyes.

“He’s been playing like that,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “He really has been since the summer. Really consistently shooting the ball well, consistently playing well at both ends. Been much more aggressive driving the ball, making plays.

Video: Fran McCaffery discusess Iowa’s win over Southern University

Fran McCaffery discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

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Named 2023 Iowa Mr. Basketball as a senior at Waukee Northwest, Pryce Sandfort’s game did not immediately translate in his freshman season for the Hawkeyes. There were clear growing pains in the transition to the college level as Sandfort played sparingly and was just a limited factor.

That sparked a change behind the scenes. Sandfort suggested that he move to scout team during practice in hopes of playing more freely. McCaffery said this isn’t unheard of — a player desiring to transition to scout team — but it is a rarity.

“He just got back to being who he is,” McCaffery said. “The guy was Mr. Basketball for a reason. He was the best player in the state. And he was trying to fit in. He was a freshman and trying to be solid. It’s like, dude, you need to go make plays, you need to be aggressive, you need to drive the ball, you need to impact the game with your length, with your size, with your shooting.”

Sandfort showed small doses of what he could do toward the end of last season. During a stretch in February, he made 5-of-8 3-pointers during Big Ten play.

That set the stage for the offseason. Sandfort added some weight to his lanky 6-foot-7 frame. At Iowa basketball’s media day, McCaffery raved about the way Sandfort had been shooting leading up to his sophomore season.

In a small sample size, that is already being validated. Sandfort scored 11 in Iowa’s exhibition against Minnesota Duluth, all of which came in the second half. He set a then-career-high 13 points in Monday’s regular-season opener against Texas A&M-Commerce. That didn’t last long as Sandfort shattered his record yet again with the 22-point outing against Southern on Thursday.

To fellow sophomore Owen Freeman, the way Sandfort is playing isn’t exactly a surprise. What Sandfort has done out of the public eye is now coming to light.

“I kinda got to see it all last year,” Freeman said. “He helped us with scout, so he kinda killed us when he was on the scout team, too. I’ve been seeing it for a while.”

Owen Freeman: Iowa needs to take ‘more pride in getting stops’ defensively

Owen Freeman discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

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If this can be sustained — and that remains a big if — it would be a meaningful development for Iowa.

The Hawkeyes’ success this season hinges not only on the play of the big three — Payton Sandfort, Owen Freeman and Josh Dix — but also an ability to get contributions outside of them.

Iowa did so on Thursday.

Payton Sandfort, Owen Freeman and Josh Dix combined for 46 points. But the Hawkeyes also got 35 bench points, 22 of which came via Pryce Sandfort and 12 of which were delivered by Morehead State transfer Drew Thelwell. Pryce Sandfort and Drew Thelwell have now scored in double figures in each of Iowa’s first two games.

More: Iowa men’s basketball puts on impressive shooting display in win over Southern

The glamor of Iowa’s 18 made 3-pointers — one-third of them by Pryce Sandfort — was somewhat dampened by an uninspiring end to the game. Iowa, which led by 25 points with a little more than three minutes remaining, let Southern finish the game on a 10-0 run, making the final score appear less decisive. Freeman was adamant after the game that Iowa needs to take more pride in getting stops defensively.

Iowa is still clearly a work in progress — as many teams are at this point in the season. But the more storylines to materialize like that of Pryce Sandfort, the brighter the future looks for the Hawkeyes.

“It feels really good,” Pryce Sandfort said. “I’ve pictured these moments in my head all throughout last year and in the offseason. So now that it’s here, it feels really good that all that hard work paid off.”

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com